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Should the Feds Join the Trend to Legalize Pot?

Unfortunately, Mr. Boehner’s advocacy is hampered by the conflation of potential medicinal usage and recreational use.

Nov. 8, 2018 12:07 p.m. ET

I disagree with John Boehner’s advocacy for legalizing marijuana (“Washington Needs to Legalize Cannabis,” op-ed, Nov. 5). After decades of clinical psychiatry practice, I’ve yet to find that marijuana clearly produces improvement in a person’s life. Of those who’ve made such claims, their families and friends most often note the opposite is true. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in cannabis makes one high, blunts psychological insight, kills motivation and leads to addiction in 9% of adult and 17% of adolescent heavy users. No one knows who will become an addict prior to exposure to a drug. Legalization leads to more exposures,...